Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull video (2008) MOVIE REACTION

The fourth instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise and most likely everyones least favourite. We watch it to refresh our minds and to pick apart as to exactly where they went wrong and right with this movie.
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[@paulosa8823]

"People always talk about ancient aliens but there really isn't a film that's done it" Stargate fans collapse to the ground simultaneously.

[@hrs2044]

They should watch Stargate!

[@grayscribe1342]

Wasn't there an episode about a crazy relative involving a crystal skull and interdimensional aliens?

[@krannok]

@@grayscribe1342 Spoken like someone who actually watched the whole series. That takes fortitude, my friend. Well done.

[@Quirderph]

@@grayscribe1342 Probably. The concept of the crystal skulls came from a real conspiracy theory/hoax.

[@donkfail1]

@@grayscribe1342 If The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles hadn't been cancelled after only two seasons, this movie had never been made. There was a script, or at lest a synopsis, for a crystal skull episode waiting for a later season.

[@gregstephens]

“His hat ages as he does.” Now that’s a sequel I’d like to see.

[@mackderpants]

Dorian Grey sort of situation, maybe he gets a different hat at the end and turns into claymation M. Night Shyamalan, turns to the camera with Dr. Evil pinky in place, “What a twist!”

[@sirjohnmara]

I was just about to write that!

[@jjjones8609]

They are filming number Indiana Jones 5 as I type this! All the Indy movies are over the top that is the style. It was based on the movie serials that use to play weekly in movie theaters in the golden age of cinema.

[@gregstephens]

@@mackderpants That's cinematic gold!

[@Raygathex]

Stargate has a good combo of archaeology and science fiction. I recommend it.

[@MST3Killa]

yeah, that one made a lot more sense and knew how to build an atmosphere of believability. Only other 'Ancient Aliens' type stuff I recall seeing was like Prometheus... but that theme is kind of subtle against the main plot.

[@TheKayaklover]

Spielberg's --- COWBOYS and ALIENS --- is a similar premise.

[@Mr_Incognito113]

Spielberg only executive produced that film, he had very little to do with it

[@rhaspodel]

Just so happens to feature Harrison Ford.

[@rhaspodel]

@@Mr_Incognito113 Yeah, it was Jon Favreau who directed it.

[@jacobasher2859]

I like the alien inclusion just because it fits the time period very well. Movie is set in the 50s and there was quite an interest in ufos, space, and aliens in the US around that time. And of course the alleged Roswell incident was only a few years prior. After they had the 800 year old homeboy at the end of Crusade, I was kinda open to whatever

[@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy]

Agreed. So much of the hatred for this movie seems to be to be the result of mere cognitive dissonance, given that the series had always been set in the '30s prior to this. Frankly, after seeing 'God' come down and smite a small band of Nazis (not because they're Nazis, mind you, but because they opened a supposedly sacred artifact) and then suck them all up into a cloud, one should've been open to anything.

[@stevenbigness8267]

@@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy Agreed. The first 3 films during the 30's were timeless, but even for Jones time marches on. This film depicts what's going on with Indiana Jones during the 50's Which it makes perfect sense Jones would eventually come across Alien's/Interdimensional Beings. As far as surviving the fridge scene Most people would not have survived it, but this is Indiana Jones were talking about here The Guy has Uncanny Luck when it comes to surviving dangerous situations.(Indy hanging from a rope bridge while thugee cult members shoot Arrows at him from across the ravine and you see arrows hitting all around him but not on hits Indy in the back in my opinion is just as unrealistic as him surviving the nuke inside a fridge... Just sayin.

[@davis.fourohfour]

Everything in the movie - ancient astronauts, crystal skulls, Russian psychics - is pure 1950s vintage.

[@poneal666]

I'm with Tom on this one - about a 7.5 actually. It's a pretty good movie overall with some ridiculous parts. I really wish they'd done more with Karen Allen's character of Marion, as she has had (hands down) the best chemistry with Harrison Ford as a love interest in the whole series. The fridge scene was silly, but only slightly more so than the rubber raft falling out of an airplane (and then down a cliff into a river) in Temple of Doom. The CGI monkeys were rubbish, the gophers silly, and some of the characters wasted. And I agree that the tone was much different than that of the previous three movies in the series, but that was on purpose. Spielberg was trying to emulate the sci-fi B-movies of the 1950's, rather than the adventure serials of the 1930's. I agree that they could have used more mystery and more buildup, but it's a good adventure movie and well worth watching IMO. Weakest of the franchise? Yeah. Terrible? Nah, no way.

[@MST3Killa]

Thing is, the adventure serials of the 30's were extremely popular while the sci-fi B movies of the 50's weren't. Those movies were just things to put on a drive in screen while teenager made out in their cars or in the theaters. So they were made super cheap and most of them were rubbish. Really, the subject matter COULD have been made to work with Indiana Jones, but all those gigantic set pieces in the film really just ruined any chance for that. The Soviet intro/atom bomb fridge stuff, the big chase in the university, the goofy tribal ninja fight at the cemetery, the chase through the woods and fencing, and the UFO spinning up and leaving... No room for subtlety or intrigue, which is what this kind of story begs for. I mean, they say in the first 10 minutes that aliens exist, Indiana Jones was there to 'examine the bodies' (WTF? why is Indy examining the Roswell crash?), and we see what's clearly an alien hand... In Raiders, we didn't know what the Ark did until the end. In Temple we knew the stones had SOME kind of power, but it was always left pretty vague, even seeing them in action. And in Crusade, the Grail again only came into play at the end to save his dad. Maybe with the exception of Temple, we didn't know what these objects did, if they were 'real' in the sense they were anything beyond myth, or anything. With Crystal Skull, we know right away that it's all real. So any reluctance or doubt by Indy is bizarre. HE EXAMINED THE BODIES...

[@deathsurge666]

Years ago, a science mag did an analysis of the infamous fridge scene with everything from the physics to the nuclear , and they did come up with the fact that he might have actually survived. Surprised me, too.

[@coeusdarksoul2855]

WTB Source on that! LOL

[@possiblepilotdeviation5791]

BS

[@deathsurge666]

Here's the original video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKC4n5JsjJ6BY7s

[@McP485]

Karen Allen is one of my favorite parts of the first film. Here, her character is so one-dimensional... probably my biggest disappointment. It's not her fault; the writing just wasn't up to snuff.

[@hollyodell4012]

I know, it was great to see her, but she wasn't given very much to work with😕

[@jbjacobs9514]

Problem is there wasn't enough of her - they should have had more hints instead of some of the other silliness that goes on about Shia's lineage and his "mom" - it's a shame! I was so excited when I heard she would be in the movie. Poor Karen! Such an underrated actress. Still one of the best Law and Order episodes in terms of acting ever (if you can ever catch it).

[@ThreadBomb]

The fact that she and Indy never got to talk about their relationship, never even got to have an intimate moment, fatally undermines the "happy ending" of the wedding, because there is no emotional basis for it.

[@dorisbove2210]

@@ThreadBomb Indiana Jones and Marion ravenwood didn't marry right away if you look at the timeline they got back to the States in the summer and got married in autumn yes movie wise it was immediately they married but that's because it's a movie you can't expect them to squeeze all if this in a two hour adventure movie you got to be realistic

[@dorisbove2210]

@@jbjacobs9514 I total agree with you that Karen Allen is one of the best actress ever in Hollywood but I disagree she is underrated how Karen Allen's Marion ravenwood is one of the most iconic legendary characters in Cinema Movie History this is why they brought Karen Allen back to the Indiana Jones franchise Karen Allen also started in many other iconic roles and movie animal house , starman , Scrooged and the sandlot staring with Jeff Bridges and bill Murray Karen Allen's movies will forever be in pop culture popularity and demand so it is a fact that Karen Allen ranks quite high

[@jermainehaslam5634]

Shia Labeouf swinging with the monkeys is just laughable and absolute cringe and great reaction guys!

[@davis.fourohfour]

It was an homage to Tarzan, huge in the 1950s. Everything people complain about here is an homage to 50s fads. They just don't have the history to understand it.

[@finger3181]

I remember watching Tarzan as a kid, but this was just awful.

[@jermainehaslam5634]

@@davis.fourohfour Well it was a cringy homage, not done well at all in my opinion!

[@excalibur2024guy]

Wait til they re-act to Octopussy.

[@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy]

Honestly, the unnatural-looking lighting used throughout much of this movie remains my biggest gripe about it.

[@orphu88]

I know by now you've both recovered enough to attend Tom's wedding, so happy recovery, and congrats to Tom! Thanks for all the effort you both put into this channel, considering you both have full lives not connected with film reactions. I'm looking forward to what you have planned for us in the months and years to come!

[@jamesgatz4490]

If these guys don't watch The Omen 3: The Final Conflict soon then I'm calling the police 😤🚓🚔

[@jamesgatz4490]

🕴The Cinema Police have opened an official investigation into why these two wise guys thought they could react to the Exorcist 1&3 and skip the 2nd one. 🤔🕴. Tom and Shaun's days of skipping bad sequels are numbered

[@coreyhendricks9490]

This movie was a step down to the last one 19 years ago

[@tsogobauggi8721]

It was a plummet

[@DieHumanless]

A step? This is a whole flight of stairs, nay, a whole 13-story build of stairs below the previous 3 films.

[@ThreadBomb]

Also, water is wet.

[@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy]

Still more watchable than the shitty Di$ney Star Wars movies.

[@Jason_Van_Stone]

At the Vine swinging scene, it took everything inside me not to walk out the theater, and watch the rest of the movie.

[@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy]

Still not nearly as offensive as Luke's alien titty milk-drinking and 'Leia Poppins' scenes in TLJ.

[@eliaspeter7689]

Why though, the roller coaster mine carting in Temple od Doom is any better if we look at that way?

[@Hadouken65]

@07:52 That’s the Wilhelm scream! It was first recorded in the 50s and has been used over 400 times! I love when it crops up!

[@bbbnnnlll]

Get well soon!

[@607462]

Get well soon guys

[@okeefe757]

Cate Blanchett's Russian accent is horrendous.

[@jamesgatz4490]

That's what she said...

[@JamesASharp]

At least she tried.

[@timloader]

I actually think it’s intentionally bad

[@kasperarrow9448]

You should react to "Cinema Paradiso"! It is an absolutely beautiful film about the love of cinema and movie theaters. Something right up your alley, and it fits your channel's name. It won the oscar in 1990 for best foreign language film (its Italian). Oh, and the score is composed by Ennio Morricone, the same legend who scored the Man with No Name trilogy.

[@commanderkruge]

And then you should react to "Guesthouse Paradiso" which features the two guys from "Bottom" and is horrible, disgusting and tasteless and I love it. :D

[@alexkaen1701]

I disagree with the notion that this was too Sci-fi rather than mythical, with aliens rather than religious phenomena. Though they're shrouded in pseudoscientific terms, the myths of aliens and flying saucers are just as fantastical as any miracle of the Ark or Holy Grail. The only difference is that it is a modern myth, with modern interpretations.

[@JamesASharp]

Overall, it was just a bad idea from George Lucas.

[@eliaspeter7689]

IDK I kinda liked it. Also fits with the era, you know, flying saucers and all.

[@jackdubz4247]

COVID-19 *and* this movie? You two could be considered masochists. Thank you for this, it's the highlight of my miserable weekend.

[@aaronwhite4954]

“When I die, just throw me in the trash” Always love your always Sunny in Philadelphia quotes You sir. Are a 5 star man. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@broadsword6650]

What this film demonstrates is that even the very best in the business can’t hit the bullseye with every shot and there’s no such thing as a solid gold formula for making great movies. And in a way that’s good, and makes the true classics all the more special.

[@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy]

I'm fairly certain this is one of those movies that looked much better on paper than what we ended up getting. Even so, I'll still watch this over "Hook" (still Spielberg's weakest film, IMO) any day.

[@Blitzo8390]

Since Indiana Jones 5 is being filmed in the UK, I think Indy will be looking for Excalibur I know this has nothing to do with KOTCS, but Excalibur is better than aliens

[@Jason_Van_Stone]

That sounds, actually really cool.

[@Blitzo8390]

@@Jason_Van_Stone Thanks

[@caomhan84]

It's also being filmed in Greece and Morocco, and there have been photos of props showing Greek artifacts and statues. So we don't really know what the artifact is. We just know that there's going to be a flashback sequence to World War II, the Apollo moon landing aftermath provides the "setting"... But I don't think the bulk of the story will take place in the UK. The Morocco part is what has me intrigued. Because will Morocco play Morocco in the story, or will it stand in for something like Egypt, or Turkey? Greece is Greece. We know that will be part of it. And the UK is standing in for Germany, New York/The US, as well as England.

[@davidanderson1639]

Indy 5 was being filmed about 15mins from where I live in Yorkshire. Harrison Ford was seen with reference dots on his face, so they are most likely going to de-age him in post production. There was also a lot of Nazi insignia on props; North Yorkshire Moors Railway which was one location, provided a train dressed in Swastika (there’s a behind the scenes video on their channel) & Bambourgh Castle in Northumberland was dressed to look like a Nazi instillation. Interestingly, part of Glasgow has been used as a location & dressed to look like NYC in 1969; they’ve filmed a sequence to recreate the return of the Apollo 11 astronauts.

[@Blitzo8390]

@@davidanderson1639 They’re de-ageing Harrison Ford?! Oh no. And I mean ‘Oh No’ considering Lucasfilm messing up Peter Cushing’s, Carrie Fisher’s and Mark Hamill’s face. So, let’s just hope third times the charm

[@rijlqanturis625]

This is one of those movies that COULD have worked. It has all the elements the make it work. It was just executed poorly. More subtlety, less slapstick, a little more mystery and intrigue, and this could have been a solid, albeit quirky, addition to the IJ franchise.

[@caomhan84]

Yeah. Pretty much. Although I was disappointed when I saw it, over the years I've started to rationalize that it suffers from just having too many cooks in the kitchen. They wrestled with the concept for too long. And I think that since they had tried to make the movie about four times, by 2008 Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford wanted to get it done so it wasn't forever in development hell. So they went with the latest script, and just did one single rewrite of the concept. They felt that they were out of time and they rushed it and this is what we got. I actually think it would have been more interesting if they had leaned further into the 1947 Roswell incident sort of thing. And if they removed some of the slapstick, improved the finale with more of the sense of danger that was in Last Crusade instead of feeling like a video game like it did here, it would have been a better film overall.

[@MST3Killa]

What they put together always felt more like a cartoon. Too many over the top absurd pieces combined with some pretty gross CGI and a story that already departs from typical IJ fare into sci-fi really just set this whole thing up to fail from the word go. I don't like when people try to compare the outlandish stuff in the early films to this one because back then they took time to craft an atmosphere of believability, even for the most crazy stuff (although I think Temple was weakest in that regard of those 3 and closest to Crystal Skull than any of them).

[@JasonHauser125]

Years ago I read the script that Frank Darabont wrote for Indiana Jones 4, and it was about him finding Noah's ark. It was awesome. I can't believe they scrapped that plot and replaced it with what we got. Crystal Skull could have worked, but it had too many out of place elements.

[@scottjo63]

John Hurt: At least there wasn't a dream sequence of another Alien bursting out of my chest. lol No, not an actual comment, just a joke.

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

This introduced a new phrase for when a franchise is over: "Nuked the fridge." TV shows jump the shark, but movies nuke the fridge.

[@fritzkaraldo8452]

This might be my favourite episode of Ancient Aliens.

[@tsogobauggi8721]

'I didn't hear the question, but the answer is: aliens.'

[@0hMax]

There isn't a film that talks about ancient aliens? There's Stargate which has them as it's core plot.

[@CinemaRules]

We didn’t say the films talked about it, it was a very common topic between Spielberg and George Lucas

[@chinchillaka]

Speilberg did the reverse blowpipe trick before in "Young Sherlock Holmes". That's a real hidden gem you guys should consider giving a watch. Hugely underrated.

[@ryanhart8740]

Yes, Young Sherlock Holmes is so underrated, I love that movie, I got it on DVD, I actually think I’ll put it on now and watch it… 🙏🏼😃

[@chinchillaka]

@@ryanhart8740 Enjoy!

[@Dayboot33]

Also very strong Temple of Doom vibes in that film

[@gswithen]

The fridge is lead lined so he would be safe and not much room to move or get injured in there. The scene was basically lifted from an early draft of Back to the Future as a means to time travel.

[@japython]

A lead lined fridge would protect against radiation but it would in no way withstand an atomic blast, it would be blown to pieces and even if it managed to get blown out of town the impact would kill you, imagine hopping in a fridge and someone pushes said fridge off of a building

[@79mib]

I really can’t watch this movie without singing “Actual Cannibal Shia LeBeouf”

[@paulknight9998]

It's too over the top. It's like watching a cartoon.

[@i_so_late]

Temple of Doom felt over the top and cartoon-ish as well, I think like they said it's really showing the aliens upfront that takes it too far

[@Shazam961]

That is Indiana Jones in a nutshell.

[@sobreoqueeugosto4700]

So Regular Indiana Jones?

[@caomhan84]

I've said this plenty of times before on other reactions and in the years since the movie came out: I don't have a problem with the concept of aliens in Indiana Jones. Because the originals were send ups of 1930s adventure flicks, and George Lucas wanted this one to be the same sort of thing, except for 1950s sci-fi flicks. I think that is okay as a concept. But what they needed was more intrigue, more of an epic feel, more of a sense of danger. I liken it to the finale of Last Crusade. That had a sense of danger, awe, and wonder.... This felt like the climax of a video game instead.

[@MST3Killa]

They didn't know where to go with it. I think that much is apparent. Beyond the basic, "I want to have some alien lore with Indiana Jones," I don't know if anyone ever leaned in and said, "hey, um... this doesn't really work as you've laid it out." This was the issue with the second Star Wars trilogy, btw. Everyone just nodded along with what Lucas wanted despite things being overly silly, cheap looking, absurd, or whatever.

[@caomhan84]

@@MST3Killa The problem was the compromise. Lucas wanted the whole alien thing, Spielberg wanted more archeology. None of the scripts were working, and they had been trying since 1993 to get it off the ground. It didn't work when they went fully in the direction of sci-fi and aliens, and it didn't work when they went fully in the direction of archeology. So what we got was a blend of the two. But it was a hasty concoction. You can tell that the shooting script needed a few more rewrites, but they were just out of time. I think they had a small window of time that all three of the principles could get together, and they probably said "If we don't do this now we're never going to do it," And went with what they had. Establishing Indiana Jones as an OSS agent during World War II was great. That would have easily worked in the alien angle, because it makes sense that someone like him would be brought in on Roswell in 1947. He's someone that's been all over the world, he's an archaeologist and an anthropologist, a linguist, and he has top secret clearance. I actually think that was a cool idea and I have never been on the side of people who said that indy and aliens don't mix. It's just that we never see him in danger in this movie. He's never really in danger of anything happening to him. And it's also like they forgot that he's a badass in the second half of the film. Slapstick humor has always been part of Indy, but in this movie they went too far. He also doesn't do enough to save the day. The film is very paint by numbers. There's a good concept here. What they needed was a real script doctor to dig it out.

[@MST3Killa]

​@@caomhan84 Crystal Skull added a ton to Indy's backstory, which is cool, but the problem with it was that it was all exposition. "Remember this super cool mission you were on? Yeah, that was cool... no need to show that or anything, we'll just tell you it happened!" This kind of stuff killed any interest I had in what the backstory was. I still have no idea why HE of all people would be brought in to examine alien bodies in Roswell... other than for sheer convenience to the story. Like, sure, he is very smart and knows archeology and languages and all that, but... Aliens? We're bringing him in for Aliens? I just don't buy it. But that's what most of this movie was for me, a long series of "I just don't buy it"

[@caomhan84]

@@MST3Killa nah, it's easy to contrive a reason why they would bring him in. Indiana Jones speaks 24 languages I believe. If there were things that were on an alien craft that needed to be translated, you need linguists. It's similar to what happened in Stargate. I've been an Indiana Jones fan all my life, And I have my own ideas of what should have happened with Indy 4 and with Indy 5. Of course I was disappointed with Crystal Skull when I saw it. After I saw it, I started thinking about how it could have been better. They could have leaned into the whole Roswell thing. They could have brought the Russians in because we already had Russian spies on American soil back then. We know this. They could have been nosing around the alien wreckage looking for an alternative power source or something that would give them a leg up in the arms race (as of 1947 they still didn't have the atomic bomb). Maybe there was a similar alien crash in the Soviet Union, and the Russians had their own people working on it. Maybe Indy sees something and makes a connection between things that he sees in the wreckage and in ancient cultures of Earth, bringing in the ancient aliens angle, which leads him to look at El Dorado. Maybe there is a Russian archaeologist that has the same idea and (similar to Raiders) they both race to El Dorado. Maybe this is a guy that Indy knew during World War II. My point is, there's a lot of ways they could have made this work. I firmly believe they just rushed it because It had already been 15 years and God knows how many scripts.

[@jorgelsal]

Things I learned from Shaun and I agree "Knowledge is bad, that's why I don't read."

[@nataliearreola6361]

Congratulations on getting married Tom! Whoo hoo! Good job on the toast Shaun. Best wishes to you all.😊

[@Keksakallu]

The original films were a tribute to one of the most popular pulp cinema entertainments of the 1930s - the adventure serials like "Buck Rogers", "Zorro's Fighting Legion", "Spy Smasher", and "Don Winslow of the Navy" (and so on). Because of the 20-year gap between "Last Crusade" and "Crystal Skull", and Harrison Ford being noticeably older, they were, as you acknowledged, forced to update the setting to the 1950s, which not only necessitated changing the bad guys to Russians (a very particular 1950s obsession, what with the Cold War and all that 'Reds Under the Bed' paranoia), but also necessitated reexamining the popular pulp cinema tropes they were seeking to emulate across the entire series, and since the aforementioned adventure serials ran out of steam and popular favour by the early 1940s, and alien invasion sci-fi being one of the legitimate phenomena of the 1950s American cinema ("Invaders from Mars", "Forbidden Planet", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "When Worlds Collide", "It Came from Outer Space", "War of the Worlds", "Earth vs Flying Saucers", and so on), they made the MacGuffin an alien, and the climax an epic flying saucer moment. It was a completely natural and organic evolution of the homage to pulp cinema that they had been making with the series from the start. And as for the vine-swinging sequence... I don't know that it's any less cartoonish than the railcart chase in "Temple of Doom", frankly (but that's just my opinion).

[@phillipgreen6516]

Great show gentleman people keep going on about the bloody fridge but forget he jumped out of a plane with only a inflatable boat and survived I really enjoy this film its just fun

[@Mortismors]

"Too much knowledge... that's why I don't read." LoL

[@ScaryManiac]

Thank you for being fair about this film. I'm sick of all the childish whining all over the internet.

[@Quixotic1018]

Remember when Speilberg almost did a Raiders of the Lost Ark remastered? I feel like it would have turned out like this. Guy likes CGI A bit too much, methinks.

[@JDelwynn]

This movie is a perfect example in that even if you can do whatever you want with CGI doesn't mean you should.

[@FernandoKatana]

The real problem with this movie, its that everything looks so clean and polished and fake, not rugged like the original trilogy

[@mrgreydayofravenwood2769]

I'm glad to see that C-19 hasn't hit you as hard as it has hit most and wish you a speedy recovery and wish you well.

[@dcamaraman939]

As a Mexican lil nerd boy, watching this, I was excited when I saw the ancient aliens and the prehispanics.

[@HollywoodLito]

His hat is grey because that's his traveling fedora- the same color and model as the one he wore on the plane while traveling to Nepal in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

[@highstimulation2497]

you see, I think that even attempting to mold together sci-fi with archeology is interesting, even if it's not as successful a molding as it might be. I commend them for even attempting it.

[@davidbeach4682]

I think sometimes that people forget what Lucas and Spielberg intended from the beginning, and that was to make the good old Saturday matinee adventure movie. The point of the stunts are not necessarily to be "realistic", they are to be heavy on the "cool!" or "wow!" factor. As you noted, if you are in the late 50's, then UFO's and aliens from outer space are the topic of the time. As much as that might not be "traditional" Indy fodder, it must be counter balanced with the connectivity to the character's history. Marion Ravenwood returns and Indy has a son. They connect up the stories from Raiders, to Last Crusade, to Crystal Skull...the characters have aged and advanced, I am glad that this film did this and I enjoy it every time I watch it.

[@menolikey_]

Welp, here we are folks.

[@Toybountyhunter1974]

Great reaction guys. I enjoyed this film. Sure it's not as good as the original 3 but still quite enjoyable. You touched on it in the recap The reason that this movie was more Sci-Fi was because of the time period it takes place in. The first 3 films take place before the 2nd World War. During the 1930s movies about the occult, voodoo, and mysticism were all the rage so the first 3 films reflect the movies of the time, but after the war movie preferences changed to things like atomic monsters and aliens especially after the Roswell incident so this movie reflects that change in what movies people were into.

[@sabatocaporrino6358]

Hope you guys get better also that movie is not good in my opinion.

[@DeltaAssaultGaming]

A movie and Covid reaction? Wow

[@SamVadasy]

keep in mind this one was never meant to happen but the fanbase reached harrison ford who talked to George Lucas who convinced Steven Speilberg. George also suggested aliens and Steven said no to it then came around after George agreed to no aliens.

[@independenceltd.]

I've always wondered if I should revisit this film. Your reaction has confirmed that I should not.

[@JsscRchlDrsy]

I thought Shia did I really good job. His acting was perfect for the part.

[@MST3Killa]

You watched Crystal Skull...for that reason alone you must be quarantined.

[@arnoldrivas4590]

Sucks that both of you got COVID. Get well soon. And sorry you two also have to watch this movie.

[@devilkyn1]

First, I'm so sorry to hear that you boys caught the virus. I'm sure we're all hoping for a speedy and complication free recovery! Regarding the film, I've always enjoyed this film. Sure a few parts are a bit hokey, but to me it's part of the Indiana charm. I also find it interesting so many people have a problem with the alien theme. No one minds the earlier movies about when an all powerful, all knowing invisible (and immortal) man who lives in the clouds leaves a magical trinket on Earth. Yet when the film is about an alien race who visited Earth and taught mankind about engineering and cultivation, a concept many people believe is possible, then it's too far fetched? As a side note, having grown up with grandparents who owned an old Frigidaire, you may not know just how indestructible those things nearly were. In fact many of the manufacturing standards we have today are because kids used to play inside them in dangerous ways but would often become trapped inside when they sealed shut. Fallout New Vegas even did a nod to this scene! (lol)

[@davidbull7210]

Indiana Jones: I survived a nuclear explosion and walked away by hiding in a fridge Nagasaki Survivor: Fuck off you c**t.

[@tishamac529]

Yeah that was the Wilhem scream. A very famous dub used in hundreds maybe thousands of movies.

[@jasoncaldwell5627]

The entire third act looked like you're watching someone else playing a video game. The swinging on vines part in particular shows where, in the past they'd have been limited by practical effects and that limitation of would have made for a better- and more believable movie.

[@YodatheHobbit]

Great to see a reasonable review of this film, FINALLY.

[@rickardroach9075]

12:47 Indy's son is named Mutt. Indy is named after a mutt. Poetic.

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

Worth also noting, had Raiders, Temple and Crusade been made just 10/15 years later, they too would have featured more CG.

[@CaesiusX]

There's a prologue to an episode of the *Young Indiana Jones Chronicles* (I believe it's _The Mystery of the Blues_ episode), that is supposed to take place in the fifties I believe. It has a slightly bearded *Harrison Ford* in a chase scene, which I thought worked well. -You might be able to find just that bit online.- *Here it is:* kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6SZhneilrF4ask I recall reading that Spielberg didn't really care for the story. But he described it as George's story, and he wanted to help George tell it. As you note, taking place in the 50s is why they went with the Russians and specifically _aliens/flying saucers._ That's what the films of the time we're *all* about - *aliens invading.* So it was supposed to keep with the times. We have this preconceived notion that *Indiana Jones* fits into this particular style and story. One which doesn't quite fit the 50s.

[@michaelhurley1497]

Quatermass and the Pit is another film which includes ancient aliens.

[@routemaster19]

Now that is a classic! Gave me the screaming heebie jeebies when I first saw that on my own!

[@Imaculata]

What baffles me, is that the truck jungle chase looks so bad, when they put one of the world's best special effect companies on it.

[@jkdbuck7670]

Thanks for the review. I hope you all feel better!

[@caomhan84]

"It kind of eases you into the fact that he looks like a fat old man." Except when they filmed this movie, Harrison was in such good shape that he actually fit into his original measurements for the Raiders costume. 😂

[@caomhan84]

@@missioncodez maybe, but it shows them saying it after they refer to the hat on the ground and after they throw Indy on the ground. So it looks like they were referring to Harrison. And he most certainly wasn't fat when he filmed this... It was remarkable how ripped he got.

[@dcamaraman939]

People need to remember, Spielberg believes in Extraterrestres.

[@JamesASharp]

Get well soon guys. Be healed and made whole!

[@FreakinSweet86]

Fridge-Gate. God damn Fridge-Gate. Some will often say something like "That's so unrealistic, that wouldn't happen in real life" and yet Indiana Jones exists in a world with face melting ghosts, magical stones, immortal knights templar, the healing waters courtesy of the Holy Grail and aliens. Maybe it does test one's suspension of disbelief somewhat but this is all meant to be fantasy.

[@drewg5637]

Indiana Jones 5 set for release July 29, 2022, but it has been changed a few times since it was first to be released in in 2019 originally.

[@highstimulation2497]

I agree about taking guts and balls to do an ending like this. they COMMITTED to it, which is commendable.

[@CatallusCarmina]

If Harrison Ford is fat in this movie then I must be truly obese...

[@maxducoudray]

Man... I don't even want to watch this again as a reaction. Deep breath. I can do this...

[@jamesgatz4490]

Do you guys read Sutter Cane???

[@Silver-rx1mh]

LOL :)

[@Graphite42]

I remember before the film was released, the official website briefly listed John Hurt as playing Abner Ravenwood. It would have been great to see that character return, with Marion thinking her dad was dead, only to find he went crazy searching for the Crystal Skull. It would have truly been a family reunion, with Indy teaming up with his mentor, and seeing his daughter finally marrying Indy at the end.

[@MST3Killa]

So, the first 3 Indy movies all were made to be like old-timey adventure serials. They borrowed heavily from adventure films and stories of the 1930's. Crystal Skull, however, always felt much more like a cartoon than anything else. The CGI doesn't mesh well with the live action, so everything has a surreal and frankly bizarre look to it. A lot of filters make it all look like it's been painted and colors are clearly enhanced to an unrealistic degree. Everything either feels like it's on a stage or in front of a green screen with almost nothing on location. ...Hell, the dig site in Raiders with the sun setting and he puts his hat on in silhouette? That's GEORGEOUS! It's so memorable and yet so simple. The dense jungle in Temple of Doom and the mines with the huge deity figure... Scary! Petra in Last Crusade. So little feels genuine in Crystal Skull though. The absurd set pieces like the whole Soviet intro and the fridge and the car chase through the jungle... it all feels like a cartoon. They have no foot in reality, which, as crazy as some of the other films got with cults stuffing their hands into chests and centuries-old grail knights and such...they still FELT like they belonged. They felt real enough in the context of what we were watching. Crystal Skull... I don't think at any point I felt like I was on adventure as much as I felt like I was watching a Scooby Doo episode.

[@76tennboy]

I really like the theory that indy actually does not survive long-term that nuclear blast. His body is shutting down from the radiation poisoning and everything from the hose down forward is his brain trying to create one last hurrah before he dies. Obviously we’ll see how the fifth movie plays into that but once I learned that theory, I actually enjoyed this movie a lot better.

[@sntxrrr]

So much is literally unbelievable in this movie. Like the fridge thing, not only because of the radiation but also the tumbling. And the whole movie is like that. It makes you not care about what happens because there is probably another deus ex machina moment just around the corner that will magically solve the heroes current dilemma. Also, what was the aliens motivation?

[@MrRys]

do you guys know about stargate?

[@tmrezzek5728]

Great review! Shia LeBeouf (actual quote): "I don't like the movies that I made with Spielberg. The only movie that I liked that we made together was Transformers one. He’s less a director than he is a fucking company.” Well, he's not totally wrong..too much CGI-wowing-kaboom-action-stunts gets tedious. Which is why Spielberg's minimalist 'Duel' (1971) still absolutely rocks after 50 years.

[@tysonic777]

I think because I played Fate of Atlantis and Infernal Machine as a kid that I wasn’t so against Indy dealing with something other than gods, wasn’t such a difficult concept to grasp. I agree though, a subtler approach would have made it gel better with others though.

[@dratelectasis]

7:14. The girl that punches that god awful character "Mutt" is Sasha Spielberg (Steven and Kate Capshaw's daughter)

[@NotSoAverageMe]

Other worldly (action fantasy)very much fits in the Spielberg and historical stuff that would fit Indy if one is into ancient aliens tv shows with that said I really loved it as a part of the Indy world.

[@MichaelPhillipsatGreyOwlStudio]

If you're watching the finale of an action film and you're caught up with the question of whether it's too much or not rather than being enraptured by it, then the question is self-answering: it's way too much. I mean, think about it, all those falls and catastrophic action scenes and no one even breaks a nail? It's a self-parody.

[@007wars6]

One big thing that I hate about this movie is the HEAVY use of CGI. One of the things that makes the trilogy SO great is the use of phenomenal practical effects and stunts. They just totally took that away here

[@lunatone7330]

I've always loved the Crystal Skull theme, at least this film has good music.

[@YannLL]

Glad you didn't hate on it! Fair rating.

[@iangrant3615]

Firstly - thanks for keeping the reactions coming when you're unwell. Hope you feel better now. In terms of the movie, it has some good elements, but it's just fundamentally flawed, mainly because the treasure/quest this time doesn't fit - aliens and flying saucers means it's more like Indiana Jones and The X-Files. The Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail were items that an archeological treasure hunter would hope to discover. They should have gone with something Biblical again, or at least something that people have heard of in ancient mythology. Not hokey science fiction, leave that to Mulder and Scully. One final word - after the Mummy series and now his defence of this one, I'm starting to wonder if Tom might have dodgy taste in movies, but perhaps the loss of taste is just a temporary COVID symptom, and he will recover his usual faculties soon ;) I actually scored this higher than you guys, but watching it again with you here, I think I was wrong and I agree with your scoring.

[@ohc1492]

Aliens have been an integral part of archeological mysteries for ages too, not just the Bible. It takes the same amount of effort to roll my eyes at aliens building the pyramids as to a guy named Jesus having drank from a wooden cup or an ark containing two magically appeared stones with written scriptures on them. Religion is just as far fetched as science fiction is, and both probably based on the same principle: extraterrestrial entities determined to save the world with higher knowledge.

[@iangrant3615]

@@ohc1492 I know what you mean yes, I guess it's just that flying saucers and alien species feels removed from humanity, whereas the holy grail and the ark were objects either built by or used by people according to the religious or mythological stories. So those objects appeared grounded in our world and yet had some kind of a mysterious power, rather than actually seeing aliens and alien-built craft in this one.

[@vendelayindustries]

There were plans of making a sci-fi-Indy movie earlier in the 80's, could have been in 1983-84? This was Lucas' idea, but Spielberg had just done Close encounters of the third kind at the time, and was a little tired of that theme, so the idea was scrapped. Wonder how it would have worked in the series and how it would have been rated if it would have been done back then?

[@DannX68]

Get well soon, guys. Crystal skulls are very much a part of true mythology and ancient religions. The skulls are not the problem with the movie, the execution is.

[@okeefe757]

At the time in relation to other movies at the time, Jurassic Park looked more believable when it came out in 1993 then a lot of the CGI in this. Same director, it's just like he didn't really care about this movie. I don't think the story was great either. Maybe this movie was more a product of just George Lucas versus one of Lucas and Spielberg together.

[@internetidentity3917]

Even early CGI looks a lot better when all the shots you use it in are so dark you can only kind of see the dinosaur in the first place

[@lizmagu3189]

Same can apply to the Lord of the Rings trilogy vs The Hobbit movies. The cgi was awful in the Hobbitses!! Really doesn't make sense. It should improve not get worse. 🤷‍♀️

[@internetidentity3917]

@@lizmagu3189 And then the CGI for Avatar is still really good today and that movie came out in 2009. So the only thing I can conclude is that technological progress is less of a determinant than how much money you want to spend and how much time you can wait (in the case of Avatar, both of those were "a lot")

[@ThreadBomb]

Everyone keeps trying to blame George Lucas for this one, but Spielberg was the director and it was his responsibility to get it right.

[@laurabogar3956]

Hoping you guys have a speedy recovery. Wishing that your health is even better than before you got sick.

[@Rob_Infinity3]

17:14 - The movie 'Stargate' would be great to see you two react to!

[@imyourrealdad2379]

You guys, at some point, should watch these when you get a chance: Soldier (Kurt Russell, 1998) Ravenous (Guy Pearce, 1999) Dark City - Directors Cut (Rufus Sewell, 1998) The legend of Bagger Vance (Will Smith, 2000) Escape From New York (Kurt Russell, 1981) Gattaca (Ethan Hawke, 1997) Fallen (Denzel Washington,1998) I reckon most, if not all of these are cult classics and it’d be great to see your reactions and ratings.

[@amandaevans7908]

If Tom ages half as beautifully as Harrison Ford then cheers!! We all can only hope!

[@germains79]

I hope y’all are doing well and hope you overcome this virus quickly and without any problems.

[@leechmiller1072]

Sorry to hear you two got sick. Hope you're feeling better.